Chapter 1: The Reunion

Forever fall. The forest of red trees and in a resent endeavor, the place where an entire train full of dust was high jacked from the Schnee dust company. But that wasn't why I was here. I was here to investigate the Grimm that had terrorized Vale for the last few weeks. I needed to find the pack of beowolves before they could do any more damage. I stopped and crouched, gathering myself and concentrating. My semblance was awareness, at all times I know what was happening around me.

I cast it outwards and searched further and further, sifting through the beautiful red ocean until I noticed something. A temple, it was in ruin, large claw marks covered the walls. I was at the maximum range and couldn't see inside. Bring my senses back to my immediate surroundings I rose again and walked in its direction. My armor held snuggly to my chest and shoulders as well as my legs and feet. My white shirt was relatively light weight and had a hood that I had drawn over my head.

After walking a few feet I stopped as the bushes a few feet to my left rustled. Watching it closely I drew one of my three extended throwing knives and waited. After a moment a brown haired rabbit Faunus burst through, followed shortly by a rather large Ursa. I took notice of the beast and the girl and cursed myself for not seeing this while had been casting my senses outward. She reached me and lost her balance falling next to me.

I could see a hint of red on her left leg. She had been injured and judging by her panting she had run at least a mile. Turning to the Ursa I charged and met it half way, drawing its attention off the girl. Drawing a second of my knives I slid under its large paw. I hadn't gone low enough and it grazed the top of my head, tearing my hood, and revealing my white hair. Leaping up and around to its back. I landed on it shoulders and buried both of my knives into its back. I waited a moment before the Ursa reeled back and through me off. Spinning around and swatted at me again. I flipped backward and through one of my knives at its face.

I heard a slicing sound before the Ursa whined and collapsed. Flipping back onto my feet I saw the damage I had done. My knife was embedded in the Ursa's throat. Sighing at the loss of my hood I retrieved my knife and cleaned it before sheathing it. Looking down at the Ursa I noticed that one of its claws was red with blood, confirming that it had been this beast that had hurt the Faunus.

"Ike, is that you?" came a heavily accented voice. Sighing I walked around the dead Ursa and over to the Faunus.

"What are you doing out here alone Velvet, You know better than to be out in forever fall by yourself," I knelt before my class mate and pulled a bandage from one of the pouches on my belt.

"You say that, but you're out here all by yourself." She sat up as I bandaged her leg. Her armor was light and covered only her torso. It was a purple with dark blue trim. She carried no weapon with her as she relied mostly on her martial arts.

"Indeed I am, but I can keep myself alive by myself and can escape from almost all of the Grimm." I said as I secured the bandage and got onto my feet before helping up the Velvet. Thinking for a moment I reached into the pouch on my back and drew two folding fans out before handing them to Velvet. "Take these. It isn't much but they should keep you alive longer than your fists against the Grimm this far into the forever fall."

Turning back toward my objective I took a few steps before Velvet spoke again. "Ike, you're not going to leave me here are you?" That stopped me in my tracks.

"I am on a mission; I didn't say you couldn't come with me." I turned back around and smiled at my childhood friend. "Come on the sooner we get done the sooner we can get reacquainted." I turned back and continued this time I heard Velvet behind me as we traveled.

We walked for a while before reaching the ruined temple I had sensed. All the while Velvet examined the fans I had given her and were throwing them to get used to their range. Holding up my hand we stopped and I cast my senses toward the temple. Now that I was closer I could sense the beowolf inside. I searched the inside of the temple thoroughly, but as far as I could tell it only had the one room where the lone beowolf waited, no doubt having heard us approaching.

"There is a target inside. That's strange, only one beowolf? I'm after a whole pack." I kept my focus forward, nothing. Turning to Velvet I explained my plan. "Stay out here and holler if you need me. I'm going to deal with this one and be back. Get used to those fans while you wait. They adopt your aura and connect with it. No matter how far you throw them, they will come back to you."

She nodded and turned around as I turned back and entered the temple. Drawing my knives as I entered a chamber where the beowolf stood. It was pitch black the only light came from where I had come from. But it was quickly cut off as I stepped on a trigger that dropped a stone slab into place over the door. The beowolf growled a deep raspy growl. It was an older beowolf; no doubt this was going to be an interesting fight.

I cast my awareness outwards to fill the room as it charged and struck at me with its claws. Ducking and rolling away I through one of my knives. I heard it hit stone, a clear sign that the beowolf had dodged my attack. Before I could regain my footing it was on me and attacking, raking its claws down my armored torso. Rolling with its attack onto my back I kicked upward into its belly and flung it over me, swinging at it with my right hand. I heard it whimper as I cut one of its legs.

"tch, Damnit." Getting to my feet I faced the creature. Moments past and neither of us moved. I could tell it was confused as to how I was fighting it do to the fact that I can't see. It slowly moved to the right, moving soundlessly as it tried to flank me. But my semblance kept me aware and I followed it. We circled each other for a moment before it charged again. This time I through a knife to meet it half way, it embedded in its shoulder. It stumbled for a moment but leapt into the air.

Raising my arms above my head it landed and my remaining knife stabbed into its chest. It howled briefly as I tossed it back over my head, into the wall that blocked the entrance. It landed heavily but it still breathed as I turned to face it. That's when I heard the fault gasp from Velvet outside. Casting my sense through the wall as best I could, I managed to make out the rest of the pack of beowolfs surrounding Velvet. She was fighting as best she could but the beowolves were a force to be reckoned with, having been attacking Vale for a few weeks and getting away unharmed each time. They weren't fighting as if they wanted to kill, they were hunting; and with the experience of this particular pack even an experienced hunter or huntress would be hard pressed to fight them on their own.

My senses were yanked back into the chamber when the beowolf slammed into me, knocking me a good five feet. I hit the ground and felt the cold steel of my knife on my hand as I rolled over it. I took it in my hand as I stood, sheathing them both as I addressed the beowolf.

"I don't have time for you. Your buddies are outside harassing my friend." I forced my aura into my armor that covered my chest and immediately felt it loosen around my chest. It split down the middle and spread back over my shoulders and outward. The spot where my armor connected in between my shoulder blades tingled slightly from the sensation. I leaned over as the armor got done repositioning and shot red dust bombs from the joints to destroy the beowolf. By the time the smoke cleared all that was left was my throwing knife and a gaping hole in the wall that led outside. I could see Velvet breathing heavily as the beowolves surrounded her.

Putting away one of my knives I kicked off and shot towards the entrance, gabbing my knife as I passed. "Velvet, take my hand!" I reached down as I flew past her. She turned and reached up to me but her expression changed to exhausted to confused as I lifted her into the air and above the Forest of Forever fall.

"Ike… are those… wings." The two pieces of my armor had expanded and filled with my aura and were now carrying is upward. I looked down at Velvet before answering.

"Remember when I dissappeared. My father knew researcher who thought he had found a way to attach wings to hunters and huntresses. According to him, I proved that his work would give hunters and huntresses the second most important discovery since dust." I looked away momentarily before I looked back. "But it was later determined that I was extremely lucky because all ten of the second generation of test subjects died during the procedure or were crippled and unable to ever fight again. I'll tell you more later right now we need to finish this pack of beowolves. Connect those fans with your aura and we can finish this in one final attack.

I watched as she listened to my instruction and pieced it together as she did so. I couldn't see her face but I guessed that she was confused about my revelation of the wings that were on my back, connected by technology and dust.

"Fine but I want answers to my questions when we get out of this," She looked back at me momentarily. I think I understand this weapon now, let's finish this." I nodded and dove for the clearing where the beowolves looked at us. I flipped backwards and tossed her up above me just enough for her to land on my back when I righted myself. When we were a few feet from the ground I pulled up and landed hard on my feet. The armor covering my legs and feet slid easily across the ground. I crouched over and fired dust fire bombs from my wings as I slid to a stop, killing 5 if the 10 remaining beowolves.

My exhaustion caught up to me and I slumped over onto my hands and knees. Velvet cart wheeled over me as she flung the fan. I caught a glimpse of it cutting through a beowolf before I lost sight of her. She was a fast learner, that much hadn't changed from the old days.

My aura was depleted; my wings folded back over my shoulders and back into armor. I heard the growls and yelps as the beowolves were defeated one after the other. Finally it came to a stop and Velvet walked over to me. Disconnecting the fans and folding them she slid them into the holster on my lower back before helping me up. As I got to my feet Velvet took my arm and put it over her shoulders, helping me along as we started walking back towards Vale.

Velvet used that opportunity to ask her question.